A Tale of Two Samurai Boys
by uzumaki rakku
Summary: Nanashi, Naoto. Two young samurai thrown into the insanity and chaos that is war. People tended to forget that samurai fought too... and died. They died so very easily. Set in Hi no Kuni, before and during the Third Shinobi War. Part of Ode to the Nobody.


**A Tale of Two Samurai Boys**

**I know, I know, I said I'd update my other fics. As you can see, I did not. I am so sorry! D:**

**Still! I hope you like this fic! I may update this in the future, but this fic would mainly consist of oneshot-ish chapters that can be a bit vague and random. Hmm.**

**This chapter is about two teenage samurai from Hi no Kuni. I don't have a real timeframe in mind, bit I guess this should be during the Third Shinobi War. Although it says _shinobi_ war, I think samurai were involved too. But they probably died more easily when they were unlucky enough to fight against ninja...**

**Read, enjoy, and review! (:**

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"Ne, Naoto."

"Hm?" A head popped up, dark eyes peering at him beneath a mop of bright green hair.

"You ever wondered what'll become of us when all this is over?"

Naoto sighed dramatically, pushing himself into a sitting position. "And I was just about to take a nice, comfortable nap. What the heck are you talking about now?"

His tall friend looked at him seriously. "Do you think we're going to survive this war? Do you think we'll even survive tomorrow's battle? What will be left when this madness comes to an end?"

"We're samurai, Nanashi. Common soldiers. We don't wonder about stuff like that."

_"Because we don't want to know the answer?"_ Nanashi's gaze was shrewd.

Naoto frowned. "It makes no difference. If we die, we die. If we live through this thing, then hoo-ray, we live."

"Hmm... But I still can't help but think about it..." The dark-haired teen murmured as he leant back against the tree.

"You're weird, you know." Naoto remarked dryly.

"Yay."

He spluttered incredulously. "What - !? I say you're weird and - ! And you just say _'Yay'_? What the heck - !" Face met palm.

Nanashi sighed. "Shuddup."

"Oi!!! You're the weird one! Thus! You shouldn't tell me to shut up!"

He gave his friend a mildly bewildered look. "And that makes sense _how_?"

"It makes sense because it simply does. Thus it makes sense... uhh... Yup!"

Ignoring Naoto and his nonsensical logic, Nanashi sighed, blue-grey eyes staring the gradually darkening sky.

"I joined the samurai because it was simply too late for me to start ninja training - and I didn't have the money for that, anyway. My parents were amongst the unfortunate civs that died during the last war. Damn Iwa-nin and their stupid boulders..."

A single leaf fell from an overhead branch, floating down gently and finally landed on Nanashi's head.

Swat.

His eye twitched.

"Was that really necessary?"

Naoto snickered.

"What? I was just being kind and helpful! I got rid of that leaf for you."

Nanashi muttered something grumpily, rubbing his head.

"You and I both know that's just an excuse for you to smack me."

The snickering continued.

Grumbling about crazy incorrigible idiots, Nanashi picked up the offending leaf.

"You ever wondered what it'd be like if we were one of _the_ elite Konoha-nin, instead of plain, common and expendable samurai?"

Naoto raised his eyebrows.

"You _do_ know that a ninja's life ain't all creepy stealth and kickass jutsu."

"But it's easier to kill an opponent if they never saw it coming." His eyes narrowed. "And a huge boulder can do _a hell of a lot more damage_ than one sword."

"Ninja don't wear armour. Makes it easier for them to get stabbed and killed. Lots of people die _before_ they become real ninja, when they're still in training. At least we aren't sent out into the field until we're fully trained."

"I suppose so. Either way, people die."

"Morbid much?"

He shrugged.

A sudden gust of wind snatched the leaf out of his hand and whisked it away. He let his hand fall.

"Are you scared, Naoto?"

"Of the war?" his friend's voice was strangely calm.

"Of the end." Nanashi was as cryptic as ever.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, as usual," Naoto replied flatly. "Still, I guess we're all afraid... of war, of killing, of losing limbs, losing people, losing _lives_..."

"But what is in store of us afterwards?"

Naoto looked exasperated. "You expect me to know what comes after death?"

Nanashi laughed.

"Only the _Shinigami_ knows what comes after death. You know, when I joined the samurai, I never really thought of what would happen to me. I saw a way out of living on the streets, starving and cold, so I took it. I didn't think about stuff like... battles. War. Death."

"You didn't think!? Oh the shock! The world! The world has come to an end!" Naoto exclaimed, gesturing wildly.

Nanashi smacked his friend's head. "You are too dramatic."

"And you think too much!"

The taller teen looked faintly amused. "Because _you_ never do."

"Anyway," he continued. "Enough about death. If we survive this battle, if we actually survive this _war_, what will we become?"

The almost completely obscured sky reflected in identically clouded eyes. Naoto blinked at him, puzzled.

"Maybe we'll be bitter and cynical old crones, living in a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere and cursing the world. Maybe we'll be one of those ancient veterans they interview to write history books and stuff. Maybe we'll be fat and lazy like those house cats we see in gardens, sleeping the day away in the warm Hi no Kuni sun, meeting up occasionally to reminisce but not actually _doing_ anything with our lives..."

"_And_ maybe we'll just be normal people living normal lives in a random civ village."

He gave a crooked half-smile.

"Straightforward as ever, Naoto."

"I just like to keep things simple."

Did Naoto look... resigned?

"That does make things easier to bear, doesn't it..."

They sat in silence, leaning against the tree and watching the heavy rainclouds move together, covering the entire sky in a dull, gloomy blanket.

Naoto yawned lazily, and stood up.

"It's going to rain soon."

"Yeah."

"Let's get back inside."

"'Kay."

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**So... how was it? Was it too vague? Review please! (:**

**Just in case anyone's confused:****  
****Hi no Kuni = Fire Country****  
****Naoto means honest man or something along that line I think...****  
****Nanashi means no name. He chose that name for himself after he was orphaned.**

**I realise that both characters are OCs ._. But... they're okay for OCs, right? :/  
****Naoto is the melodramatic one and Nanashi is the sort of melancholy one... xD**

**Anyway! I hope you liked this fic despite the weirdness!**

**And I am so, so sorry for not updating Dear Weird Book and Irrelevant. My piano exam's today... but I will try my best to update them after that! -bricked- I have been procrastinating and hiatus-ing since forever, and I can only say thank you to everyone for bearing with me. THANK YOU! YOU PEOPLE ARE REALLY NICE! ^^**

**rakku**


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